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>>> The tmux client for iPhone & iPad Babysit Your Agents. From Bed

A fast, old-school tmux and SSH client for iPhone and iPad. SSH into your own server, attach to real tmux sessions, and see what Claude Code, Codex and Hermes are up to while you're away from the desk.

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[ iPhone ] [ iPad ] [ tmux 3.0+ ] Needs tmux on your server. That's the whole point.

RETRO TMUX is a tmux client for iPhone and iPad. It connects to your own server over SSH, attaches to your real tmux sessions, and shows whether AI coding agents like Claude Code, Codex and Hermes are working, done, or waiting for you. Your sessions keep running on the server when you close the app.

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THE STORY

RETRO TMUX is for people who barely sleep, have strong opinions about monospace fonts, and somehow feel more at home in a terminal than in actual sunlight.

A fast, old-school TMUX client wrapped in glorious retro hacker aesthetics — because managing servers from your phone shouldn't feel like doing your taxes.

SSH in. Split panes. Break things remotely. Fix them before anyone notices.

No glossy corporate nonsense. No productivity buzzwords. Just terminals, sessions, blinking cursors, questionable sleep schedules, and the comforting feeling that somewhere, something is compiling.

Built for developers, sysadmins, terminal addicts, homelab goblins, and anyone who has ever said:

“I’ll just SSH in for five minutes.”

Three hours ago.

4tmux versions tested live on every build
80 × 24minimum grid. Agents never get squeezed
1.6sCRT launch intro. Tap to skip, we won't be offended
700+automated tests, including live server gates

// Made for AI agents //

Know What Your Agents Are Up To

Run Claude Code or Codex on your server, check on it from your iPhone. RETRO TMUX spots Claude Code, Codex and Hermes in your tmux sessions and tells you what they're doing. So you can stop attaching to every session like a nervous parent checking on a sleeping baby.

>>> SESSIONS203.0.113.7
    CLAUDE USAGE 42%read 2m ago

    • Live state in the session list and in the terminal tabs: working, needs you, done, idle.
    • Claude usage as a percentage, with how old the reading is.
    • One switch installs small, reversible hook scripts on your server. No agent, no noise.
    • Attach lands on the agent's window, not a random one.
    • The keyboard never resizes the grid, so agents never re-layout mid-task.

    > How to use Claude Code on your iPhone →

    // tmux, done properly //

    A tmux Client. Not An SSH App With A Sticker

    RETRO TMUX is a real tmux client, not a plain SSH terminal. With plain SSH, your work only lives as long as the connection: close the laptop or lose signal and whatever was running dies. With tmux, your sessions live on your server. Close the app, lose signal, drop your phone down the stairs: nothing gets killed. Come back from any device and everything is where you left it.

    plain SSH
    • You close the laptop lidYour agent is killed
    • Signal drops on the trainTask gone, start again
    • You switch to your phoneNew shell, empty screen
    SSH + tmux
    • You close the laptop lidIt keeps working
    • Signal drops on the trainReconnect, same screen
    • You switch to your phoneAttach, pick up mid-sentence
    iPhone and iPad connect over SSH to your server running tmux sessions iPhoneiPadRETRO TMUX SSH · key or password your servertmux 3.0+ agents:0 · claude api:1 · codex logs:2 · hermes iPhone and iPad connect over SSH to your server running tmux sessions iPhone · iPadRETRO TMUX SSH · key or password your servertmux 3.0+ agents:0 · claude api:1 · codex logs:2 · hermes

    Attach. Detach. Come Back.

    Detaching never kills a session. Your agents keep going while you go outside, allegedly.

    Your Laptop Never Knows

    The app attaches through its own view session, then puts window sizes, mouse settings and layout back when it leaves. Your desktop tmux stays untouched.

    Exact History

    tmux control mode delivers every line once, in order, including what happened before you attached. No gaps, no duplicates, no vibes.

    Windows & Panes

    New window, switch window, split, close split, show all panes. On iPad, panes sit side by side exactly like tmux lays them out. Double-tap to zoom.

    3.0a → 3.7c

    The app probes your server's tmux and falls back to a normal attach when control mode isn't there. Still tmux. Never a bare shell.

    Session Tabs

    Jump between sessions on the same server from inside the terminal, without going back to the list. Create and kill sessions from the phone, too.

    // A real terminal //

    A Keyboard That Knows What Ctrl Is

    Phone keyboards were built for texting your mum. This iOS SSH client and terminal for iPhone and iPad was built for ^C.

    • Never fewer than 80 columns, and 24 rows in portrait.
    • Fit-width by default, pinch to zoom, two-finger double-tap to reset.
    • Finger scrolling everywhere, even inside htop, vim and Claude Code.
    • Full-screen apps render properly, history kept.
    • Select text with handles, copy. Tap links to open or copy.
    • Unicode, wide characters, international keyboards.
    • Retro keyboard in the DOS font: number row, Esc, Tab, Ctrl, Alt, arrows, F1–F12.
    • Sticky Ctrl, key repeat, long-press alternates.
    • Ctrl-C that actually reaches the program, including Claude Code.
    • Full desktop layout on iPad. System keyboard one tap away for dictation.
    • Reconnects after a dropped link without replaying your input.

    // iPhone + iPad //

    One App. Every Screen Size

    Use tmux on iPhone and iPad from the same app (SSH on iPad, explained). Everything scales from the window it's in. Split View, Stage Manager, rotation. No fixed layouts, no letterboxing, no "iPad version coming soon".

    RETRO TMUX on iPhone: two tmux sessions, one running Hermes and one running Claude, with the window picker open
    RETRO TMUX on iPhone: Claude Code running inside a tmux session, with the retro keyboard
    RETRO TMUX on iPad: the hosts screen, no saved hosts yet
    • One app for iPhone and iPad.
    • Side-by-side panes on iPad, scrolling each on its own, even with the keyboard up.
    • Rotate all you like: history and your place stay put.
    • Dynamic Type, VoiceOver labels, Reduce Motion respected.

    // The look //

    Looks Like 1987. Works Like Now

    A retro CRT terminal for iOS: near-black screens, phosphor green, CRT scanlines, bracket-cornered buttons and a DOS font on every single screen. One design vocabulary, enforced by an automated audit, because we have problems.

    • CRT launch intro: a beam ignites and opens the emblem in 1.6 seconds. Tap to skip.
    • Boot overlay while a slow link connects. Cancel after five seconds.
    • Pixel-exact box art and progress bars, because half-drawn boxes are a crime.
    • Pick your text colour and font size.
    • Voice cues when a session opens and detaches.

    // Secure by being boring //

    No Account. No Cloud. No Nonsense

    The app talks to your server. That's it. No sign-up, no servers of ours in the middle, nothing to leak because we never had it.

    • SSH with a password or a key.
    • Generate an Ed25519 key on the phone, install it with your password once, use the key forever.
    • Import OpenSSH or PEM keys (Ed25519, ECDSA, RSA) from Files, iCloud Drive or AirDrop.
    • Encrypted keys ask for the passphrase only when needed.
    • Keys and passwords stay in the iPhone Keychain. Nothing leaves the device.
    • Unknown or changed host keys are shown to you to verify or cancel.
    • TEST SSH before saving a host, with a guided Key → Server → Test setup and a copy-paste install command.

    // Reliability //

    Boring On Purpose

    01

    Every successful action shows you an outcome. Every failure leaves you a way back.

    02

    Copy is never confused with Interrupt. Disconnect never kills a session.

    03

    Tested live against four tmux versions on a real server, on every build.

    04

    Light on the battery: the session list refreshes every 5 seconds only while an agent is active, every 20 otherwise.

    // Roadmap //

    Coming Soon. Probably

    Things we're building or planning. Not shipped yet, so we're not pretending otherwise.

    1. IN PROGRESSTEST SSH also reports your server's tmux version, and whether full mode is available.
    2. PLANNEDLock-screen notification when an agent needs you, with Approve and Deny buttons.
    3. PLANNEDIn-app alert when an agent needs you while you're in another session.
    4. PLANNEDCodex and Hermes usage and lifecycle at the same depth as Claude.
    5. PLANNEDSeveral servers open at once, with tabs across servers.
    6. PLANNEDiPad split screen: hosts on the left, sessions on the right.
    7. PLANNEDTerminal bell as a local alert.
    8. MAYBEA synth soundtrack and equaliser. We're thinking about it. Probably too hard.

    Not planned for v1: port forwarding, SFTP, a Mac build.

    // FAQ //

    Questions You Were Going To Ask Anyway

    Can I use tmux on my iPhone or iPad?

    Yes, that's the whole point. RETRO TMUX connects to your server over SSH and attaches to its real tmux sessions, so you get your sessions, windows and panes on iPhone and iPad. On iPad, panes sit side by side exactly like tmux lays them out.

    Can I run Claude Code from my iPhone?

    Run Claude Code (or Codex) inside tmux on your server, then attach from RETRO TMUX. You see whether it's working, needs you, done or idle, Claude usage included, and you can type to it with a keyboard that has a real Ctrl and Esc.

    Is it a good SSH client for iPad?

    If you live in tmux, yes: keys stay in the Keychain, panes sit side by side, and there's a full desktop keyboard layout with Esc, Tab, Ctrl and F1–F12. If you want a plain SSH shell without tmux, it's not for you (yet).

    Do I need tmux on my server?

    Yes. tmux 3.0 or newer. RETRO TMUX is a tmux client, not a general SSH terminal: no tmux, no sessions. That's the whole point.

    Can I use it as a plain SSH terminal?

    Not today. A plain shell for servers without tmux is under consideration, but not decided.

    Where do my keys and passwords go?

    Into the iPhone Keychain, and nowhere else. There's no account and no cloud of ours. The app talks to your server only.

    Will it mess up my desktop tmux?

    No. It attaches through its own view session and restores window sizes, mouse settings and layout when it leaves.

    Which agents does it understand?

    Claude Code, Codex and Hermes. It shows whether each one is working, needs you, is done or is idle, plus Claude usage as a percentage. Codex and Hermes usage at the same depth is on the roadmap.

    What does the agent switch install on my server?

    Small, reversible hook scripts that report agent state. Turn it off and they're gone. When no agent is detected, nothing is shown.

    Does it work with a hardware keyboard?

    It's built to: the on-screen keyboard steps aside and the key row stays. We haven't verified it with a physical keyboard yet, so tell us if it misbehaves.

    Which tmux versions?

    3.0a through 3.7c. We test 3.0a, 3.2a, 3.4 and 3.7c live on a real server on every build.

    >>> READY WHEN YOU ARE

    ssh you@future

    Join the beta. We'll let you know when there's a build to break.

    + JOIN THE BETA